Convertible pump



Aug. 20, A 1968 W. H. DANIEL CONVERTIBLE PUMP Filed' May 19, 1967 INVENTOR.

United States Patent O 3,397,647 CONVERTIBLE PUMP William H. Daniel, 411 Daniel Bldg., Tulsa, Okla. 74103 Filed May 19, 1967, Ser. No. 639,725 6 Claims. (Cl. 10S-218) ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A pump is convertible to and from floating operation and dry base operation. A iloat is provided that car-ries a support, and the pumpl is selectively detachably connectible to opposite sides of the support so as to have two positions axially displaced from each other relative to the lloat. In the position for floating operation, the pump and its intake are desirably low in the water; but in the position of .dry base operation, the pump is suitably elevated so that its intake is supported at a desirably high elevation by the float.

The present invention relates to pumps, more particularly of the type that are selectively convertible for use either as oating pumps or as dry base pumps, that is, pumps which operate out of the water on a solid support.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a pump which is useful in a plurality of environments, thereby to effect the economy of providing a single pump that is capable of performing functions which heretofore have been possible only to two -distinctively different pumps.

yOther objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a pump accor-ding to the present invention, arranged as a dry base pump;

FIGURE 2 is a view simil-ar to FIG. 1, but showing the pump arranged as a iloating pump;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a oat for use with a pump according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown -a pump indicated at 1 comprising a pump casing 3 in the form of a pair of opposed spaced parallel horizontal circular plates 5 interconnected by a cylindrical or helical scroll 7 that forms a peripheral border for a pump chamber. The assembly of plates 5 and scroll 7 is held together by removable bolts 9. Pump 1 has a vertically disposed axial intake 11 in the form of a short internally screw-threaded cond-uit that extends downwardly, and a peripherally disposed tangentially outwardly extending outlet 13 which extends horizontally. Intake 11 and outlet 13= communicate with the interior of casing 3.

A motor 19 for driving pump 1 is provided, which is carried by and on top of pump casing 3. Motor 19 is shown as of the internal combustion type but could be any other source of power having -a downwardly depending drive shaft 21 which carries at its lower end a centrifugal-type pump rotor 23. The rotor 23 may be of conventional squirrel cage conguration, or it may be an airfoil type of rotor as disclosed in my Patent No. 3,261,297, July 19, 1966.

The pump is carried by and secured coaxially to a generally flat circular platform 25 of heavy 4gauge sheet metal or the like. Platform 25 has bolt holes (not shown) ICC therethrough, for the reception of bolts carried by lugsv 27 on pump casing 3. T-he pump may thus be selectively bolted to either side of platform 25. Platform 25 has a central opening therethrough, and the intake 11 extends through that central opening no matter to which side of the platform the pump is bolted.

The platform in turn is secured by steel straps 29 or other means to an annular` float 31 in the form of a doughnut. The lloat 31 may 'be of plastic foam or cork or it may be a hollow member. In any event, its weight is substantially less than the weight of a corresponding volume of water, so that it is highly buoyant and in fact has a buoyancy greater than the combined weight of the assembly. Platform 25 is disposed on one side of and is coaxial with iioat 31, so that the axial position of pump 1 relative to lloat 31 is determined in large part by the side of platform 25 on which pump 1 is secured.

Float 31 is also provided with a pair of oppositely disposed recesses 323 and 35, which are disposed on opposite sides of both the horizontal and the vertical midplanes of the lloat as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of recesses 33 and 35 extends radially outwardly from the central opening 37 of the float to the outer periphery of the float.

The purpose of this structure and the operation of the pump will now be clear: when it is desired to use the pump on a dry base, the iloat 31 with its attached platform 25 is positioned with the platform uppermost and the float resting on a support, as seen in FIG. 1. Pump 1 is then bolted to the top of platform 25, with the intake 11 extending downwardly, and with an elbow 39 screwthreadedly received in intake 11. An intake conduit 41 is screw-threadedly received in the other end of elbow 39, and passes through recess 33 above the floor line or plane of support.

But when it is desired to -use the pump as a floating pump, then elbow 39 and conduit 41 and the outlet conduit are unscrewed and pump 1 is unbolted from platform 25. 'I'he platform 25 and lloat 31 are then turned over to the position of FIG. 2, and the pump is bolted to what is now the upper side of platform 25, which is the side opposite the side to which it Iwas bolted in FIG. 1 during dry 'base operation. A submerged intake nipple 43= can if desired be screwed into intake 11, and the conduit to outlet 13 is then screwed into the outlet through recess 35.

Thus adapted for use as a floating pump, the pump can now be floated on the surface of a body of liquid as seen in FIG. 2. The intake and the pump chamber are s-uiciently low that the pump remains primed and can be quickly started.

By contrast, when the pump is in its relatively higher position as shown in FIG. l, during use as a dry base pump, the intake 11 is sufficiently high above the iloor line or other supporting lsurface that there is room for the elbow 39.

Thus it will be noted that both recesses 33 and 35 are needed, although only one is used at a time, and that the used one is always the lower one, the identity of the lower one depending, however, on which way the oat-platform assembly is turned.

It will also be appreciated that the float performs a unique double function: lin the water, it oats the assembly; but on a d-ry base, it spaces the intake sufiiciently high above the substr-ate to permit eilicient liquid ow to the intake.

It is preferred that the recesses 33 and 35 be on opposite sides of the float 31, as seen from above, so that the buoyancy of float 31 will not be unbalanced in any direction.

It will also be realized that the pump is very ellicient when floating. The intake is always at a desirable level below the surface, because the pump rises and falls with the rise and fall of the surface o'f the liquid on which it oats. Moreover, the outlet connections of the pump, which may carry the pump liquid, say, to a point on the shore remote -from the body of liquid, counteract the tendency of 'the pump to rotate slowly in the direction opposite to the rotor as a reaction to the rotation of the rotor.

invention, as those skilled in this art will yreadily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be Within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A pump convertible to and from floating operation and dry lbase operation, comprising a float, a support carried Iby the float, a pump mounted on the support, and means releasably selectively secu-ring the pump to one side of the support for floating operation and to the other side of the support for dry base oper-ation.

2. A pump as claimed in claim 1, the pump being a rotary pump -Whose axis is upright, the oat having a central opening vertically therethrough, the pump having an axial downwardly extending intake and a horizontally extending outlet, at least a portion of the pump being disposed in said central opening.

3. A pump as claimed in claim 2, the pump having a laterally extending recess in its underside and va laterally extending recess in its upper side, said intake being disposed in one said recess during dry base operation and in the other said recess during floating operation.

4. A pump as claimed in claim 3, said recesses being disposed on opposite Isides ofthe float `as seen from above.

`5. A pump as claimed in claim 1, the float having a laterally extending recess in its underside and a laterally extending recess in its upper side, the pump `having an intake disposed in one said recess during `dry base operation and an outlet disposed in the other said recess during oating operation.

6. A pump as claimed in claim S, said recesses being disposed on opposite sides of the oat as seen from above.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner. 

